Ultra-Low Freezers can be used effectively to reliably store certain types of biomarkers; 
Picture: © B Medical Systems

Maintaining the integrity of tumour biomarkers during processing and storage is of great importance for the accurate diagnosis and prognosis of many diseases, including cancers. To safely store samples for research or clinical uses, freezing procedures are used to arrest the ­degradation of biomarkers. However, the stability of these molecules depends upon long-term ­storage conditions.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Picture: © bennymarty - stock.adobe.com

A decade ago, the news about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch went viral. Since then, a multitude of startups proliferated on a mission to create ecological alternatives to the ubiquitous fossil-based plastics. At ECBF, we are closely monitoring the emerging materials for packaging applications, by far the main use case of plastics.

Stucture of the AI Health Innovation Cluster in Heidelberg, Germany

The AI Health Innovation Cluster is bringing together leading scientists at the ­interface
of artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare, and data science. The goal is to combine and further develop the outstanding research networks and infrastructures in modern health data sciences that have emerged in the Rhine-Neckar region in Germany in recent years.

Biotech manufacturing plant at CZ Vaccines, Spain; © CZ Vaccines

SARS-COV-2 exposed our vulnerability and strategic weakness at European­ level, in terms of biotechnological manufacturing capacity.

Picture: © German Research Cancer Center

One of the most distinguishing hallmarks of tumours is their ability to avoid immune recognition. New immunotherapies have focused on breaking down those barriers, leading to treatment breakthroughs for blood cancers. While these therapies have shown great promise for some indications, we still lack effective therapies for many others. A novel route to address this is to the restore innate immunity’s ability to fight cancer.

Pharma Awards ceremony at CPHI 2022

At the CPHI, the world’s largest pharmaceutical event, which attracted 40,405 visitors this year, it became evident that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an extremely positive impact on the (bio)pharmaceutical sector. A new CPHI annual survey shows how business will develop in the future. Particularly, the prospects for CDMOs and CROs are excellent.

Euroject® device for injectable vaccine delivery is composed of Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) unit dose vial and a connectable needle hub via luer lock connection. Picture: © Unither Pharmaceuticals

Unit-dose?The SARS-CoV2 pandemic caused 6.3 million deaths and contaminated 545 million people across the world. In spite of the rapid development and approval of vaccines, the shortages of consumables like glass vials limited the distribution of prophylactic vaccines. Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) is an alternative solution with advantages that could play an important role in vaccine distribution worldwide.

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The French company Standing Ovation uses precision fermentation to create the protein that gives cheese its unique properties. With his pitch, co-founder and CEO Frédéric P’ques took the prize at the start-up pitch of the Industria Biotech.

© christian buck

With a new expansion coming online in Copenhagen, AGC Biologics is offering more capacity in Europe for mammalian biologics projects using innovative single-use bioreactor technology. This is the latest in a string of new investments from the global CDMO to expand capacity and upgrade technology at its sites in Europe, Japan and the United States.

Picture: © Patrick Art

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed perception of the value of ­rapid ­vaccine production, followed by multi-billion investments across the globe. While nanomedicines are receiving attention for enhancing stability and targeted activity of APIs, their broad availability ­currently suffers from the same production bottleneck as mRNA vaccines. Leon-nanodrugs, a pharma technology company, is developing a disruptive approach to unlock high-speed vaccine production.